LETTER: Why are our pupils worth less?

Secondary Headteachers in West Sussex have written an open letter to the Mid Sussex Times expressing their concern regarding educational funding in the county.

This letter is printed below in its entirety:

Why are the children of West Sussex worth less than nearly all other children in England when it comes to educational funding? This is the question that the 37 secondary Headteachers of West Sussex are asking. Most readers will be staggered to read that if their child goes to school in some parts of England, they will be funded at levels up to 60% more than those in West Sussex. We believe an outdated grant system is to blame which has not been tackled by a succession of governments. The end result is that the children of West Sussex are not being treated fairly.

This means that most secondary schools in West Sussex must struggle with resources which are simply not sufficient for the job they are expected to do.Analysis by the Association of School and College Leaders suggests the poorest-funded schools such as those in West Sussex will receive £1.9m less than the best-funded in the next year.

The ASCL analysis shows that schools in the 10 best-funded areas will on average receive grants of £6,297 per pupil in 2015-16, compared with an average of £4,208 per pupil in the 10 most poorly funded areas. West Sussex is the 4th worst funded authority out of the 154 authorities.

These differences in funding levels mean that for a typical secondary school of 920 students, this equates to a budget of £5.8m in the best-funded areas and £3.9m in the most poorly funded, such as West Sussex - a difference of £1.9m. This is enough to pay the total costs - salaries and pension contributions - of an additional 40 full-time teachers.

The consequence for students in West Sussex is clear. If there is less money per student to run a school they will be taught in larger classes, with fewer options and a diminished wider provision than students in better funded counties.

This will impact both on the next stage of their education, as well as their employment prospects.

As Headteachers we are keen to engage with politicians of all parties to address this situation urgently.

We believe an outdated grant system is to blame and school funding has become a postcode lottery.

In West Sussex, schools receive inadequate funding because of a historic grant system that does not work. This means that many schools in

West Sussex must struggle with resources which are simply not sufficient for the job they are expected to do.

The problem becomes potentially catastrophic over the next two years as additional costs are passed to schools with no increases in budget. A school of 1000 students will be expected to reduce costs by around £250,000 over the next two years.

When our schools are funded so poorly this can only be done by reducing staffing and so increasing class sizes.

As a group of Headteachers, we have written to our local MPs to ask to meet with them urgently. It is critical they understand the inequity in the funding system so that they are able to support the cause of fair funding for West Sussex students.”